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US judge to decide Friday if Colorado can reintroduce wolves over cattle industry objections

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:30 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A federal judge said she would decide by Friday whether to temporarily halt the impending reintroduction of gray wolves to Colorado under a voter-approved initiative, after representatives of the state's cattle industry went to court to try to stop the predators' release.If the judge sides with the industry, the decision would scramble Colorado Parks and Wildlife's plans of searching for, capturing and transporting up to 10 wolves from Oregon starting Sunday. The wolves are supposed to be released by Dec. 31, the deadline imposed under a 2020 ballot proposal that passed by a narrow margin. The animals would be among the first gray wolves in Colorado in decades.The Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association and Colorado Cattlemen’s Association filed a lawsuit Monday against Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to halt the releases.Attacks on livestock would impose “significant costs on the livestock industry and the communities that depend o...

‘He set up his own little store’: Miami man charged after drug bust in Miami reveals organized retail theft ring

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:30 GMT

A Miami man is facing serious charges one day after police officers serving a narcotics search warrant at his home uncovered what they described as an organized retail theft ring.Miami Police arrested 59-year-old Leonardo Ruiz on charges of cocaine trafficking, money laundering and possession of drug paraphernalia, among other offenses.City of Miami Police Chief Manny Morales spoke with reporters Wednesday evening.“We’re glad that he’s off the streets,” he said.Ruiz’s arrest followed the execution of the search warrant at his home in the area of Northwest 24th Avenue and 14th Street.The investigation revealed that Ruiz was not only involved in drug-related activities, but was also the ringleader in an organized retail theft ring. “He set up his own little store here,” Morales said. Chief Morales said that hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of stolen property — including drills, impact windows and a large quantity of liquor &...

13-year-old boy charged in shooting of convenience store clerk in Pembroke Pines appears in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:30 GMT

A 13-year-old boy accused of shooting a cashier multiple times during an attempted robbery at a convenience store in Pembroke Pines faced a judge. Joshua Munoz appeared in court, Thursday afternoon. His mother, father, stepfather and a private attorney were also in court with him. During his court appearance, a judge ordered that Munoz be held in juvenile detention for the next 21 days. Munoz was charged with attempted homicide, possession of a firearm by a juvenile and armed robbery. In addition, he had an active felony warrant for armed robbery, so that charge was applied as well.The shooting happened Tuesday afternoon at the Pasadena Drive Thru Food Store, located in the area of University Drive and Pasadena Boulevard.According to the arrest report, Munoz wanted to enter the food store but was denied by the clerk because the business was drive-thru only. The juvenile then followed the victim, pulled out a 40-caliber Glock and told the clerk, “Give me everything you got.&...

Finland shuts Russia border again hours after reopening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:30 GMT

Finland’s government decided on Thursday to once again close the country’s entire eastern border with Russia — from Friday night until January 14 — due to another influx of asylum seekers mere hours after it had reopened two crossing points.Interior Minister Mari Rantanen told a press conference that “entry started faster than expected when the border crossing points in Vaalimaa and Niirala were opened today.” According to a local media report, at least 60 people showed up immediately after Finland opened the two crossings.“We have found that illegal immigration at Finland’s eastern border has immediately resumed. The phenomenon accelerated faster than thought,” Rantanen said.Finland closed its border with Russia for two weeks last month amid accusations that Moscow was driving migrants and asylum seekers to the frontier to sow discord as payback for the Nordic country’s joining the NATO military alliance. The Kremlin has repeatedly deni...

Family, friends, hundreds of police officers attend wake for fallen Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:30 GMT

Family, friends and hundreds of police officers lined up in Waltham Thursday, attending the wake of the Waltham police officer who was killed in the line of duty last week. Paul Tracey died on Dec. 6 when police said a 54-year-old New Hampshire man crashed his pickup truck into a utility worksite on Totten Pond Road where Tracey was working a roadside detail. National Grid worker Roderick Jackson was also killed and several other people were injured. Just over a week after the crash law enforcement personnel assembled in a sea of blue for Wednesday’s wake at Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted church. “He was a great — just a great, overall great person,” said Tracey’s cousin, John Kavey.  “He was always there to help.”Tracey, 58, was a longtime officer in Waltham, serving the city’s police department for nearly three decades. After his casket was brought into Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted, Tracey was honored with a law enforcement walkthrough as...

First postpartum depression pill now available in the US, drugmakers say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:30 GMT

(CNN) — The first oral pill approved in the United States to treat postpartum depression is now available by prescription, according to the drugmakers.The US Food and Drug Administration approved the therapy, called Zurzuvae, in August. The product, which is now at specialty pharmacies, can also be shipped directly to patients, Biogen and Sage Therapeutics Inc. said in an announcement Thursday.However, the medication will cost $15,900 per course before insurance, raising some concerns about how many people will be able to access it.Zurzuvae is given as two 25-milligram capsules per day for 14 days to treat adults with postpartum depression or PPD, a serious mental illness that can develop in about 1 in 7 new mothers after childbirth.The drugmakers noted that people taking Zurzuvae in clinical trials had higher reductions in their depressive symptoms compared with those taking a placebo, and the reductions were seen within three days and, in a ...

Attorney for Brian Walshe withdraws from case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:30 GMT

A judge on Wednesday approved a motion allowing accused killer Brian Walshe’s defense attorney to withdraw from the case. Walshe is facing charges including first degree murder and misleading a police investigation in connection with the death of his wife. In a virtual hearing centered on his defense attorney’s motion, the judge in the case said Walshe is now broke and can no longer afford his attorney. A Norfolk County District Attorney’s office spokesperson earlier this week confirmed Walshe’s attorney was seeking to withdraw. With that move now finalized, Walshe will be represented by a state-appointed lawyer. Walshe’s wife, Ana, was last seen on Jan. 1 after a New Year’s dinner at the Cohasset home she shared with Brian. Prosecutors have since said Brian killed Ana before dismembering and disposing of her body. Ana’s remains have not been found, to date.

Cold night, then mild Friday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:30 GMT

Our coldest day of the next few is coming to an end. Highs stayed in the 30s today. After another cold night, highs soar into the low 50s tomorrow. We’ll stay above average before our next storm to end the weekend and start the new week.Since temperatures didn’t get out of the 30s today, it won’t take much for temperatures to drop below freezing again inland with mainly clear skies. MetroWest and Southern New Hampshire towns will fall into the 20s. Along the coast and Cape temperatures will be in the 30s. These will be the Friday low temperatures. A warm front passes through overnight, so by the time you head out the door tomorrow temperatures will mainly be in the 30s. A change in the air mass tomorrow will bring us mild temperatures. Highs reach the upper 40s/low 50s under mostly sunshine and a slight breeze. The weather stays nice for your Friday evening plans. Highs this weekend will generally be in the upper 40s. We’ll see increasing cloud cover through the weekend ahead of our...

Massachusetts Teachers board under fire for cease-fire ‘genocidal war’ resolution: ‘Antisemitic dog-whistling’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:30 GMT

The Massachusetts Teachers Association’s leaders are facing heat after the MTA board called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, and said Israel’s government is carrying out a “genocidal war on the Palestinian people in Gaza.”Jewish groups are slamming the MTA Board of Directors for the motion that supports a cease-fire, and a local teachers union is urging the MTA Board of Directors to retract its “antisemitic dog-whistling” statement.The MTA board recently approved the following motion:“The MTA will join in solidarity with the UAW, CTU, and other labor unions across the country, in calling for an immediate and permanent cease-fire. The MTA President and Vice President will urge the president of the NEA to pressure President Biden to stop funding and sending weapons in support of the Netanyahu government’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people in Gaza.”The Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Community Relations Council ...

These LGBTQ+ families have a message for the Midwest: ‘We Live Here’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:30 GMT

Jason Dick | (TNS) CQ-Roll CallFor one family in Iowa, the choice between staying and going didn’t feel like a choice.“Do we stay and fight, or do we go? But where do you go where there’s stability and safety?” says Katie Chiaramonte in the new Hulu documentary “We Live Here: The Midwest.”Chiaramonte, who is married to a transgender woman, is one of several Midwesterners profiled in the film, which also visits Nebraska, Kansas, Ohio and Minnesota.Director Melinda Maerker describes a sense of hope replaced by fear, as the “joyous” marriage equality decision in Obergefell v. Hodges was quickly followed by Donald Trump’s election in 2016 and “really outward, ugly” displays of discrimination.That backlash is still growing, she says. “But the goal (of) the film was not to be in any way preachy. We wanted people to fall into these stories, and good stories are often complicated.”Maerker and co-producer David Miller joined the Political Theater podcast to talk about the “courageous” and im...